As Hurricane Florence approaches, thousands ‘pledge’ to shoot their guns at the storm

A Facebook group titled “Shooting Guns At Hurricane Florence To Scare It Away” has received 30,000 people marked as attendees and 73,000 as interested. The group describes itself as satire. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Sadie Colbert

A Facebook group titled “Shooting Guns At Hurricane Florence To Scare It Away” has received 30,000 people marked as attendees and 73,000 as interested. The group describes itself as satire. U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Sadie Colbert

“Get your guns and your umbrellas,” the page reads. “And your umbrella-guns, and your beer, and your beer-guns, and your tiny umbrellas to keep your beer dry, and join people from all along the East Coast in scaring away Hurricane Florence to protect our country from this foreign invader!”

Another person shared a video of a man with an American flag in one hand and a gun in the other as he prepared for the storm.

But don’t worry: The group isn’t serious. It comes with a disclaimer that shooting at a hurricane is actually a pretty dumb idea.

“Do not actually discharge firearms into the air,” it reads. “You could kill someone and you cannot frighten a hurricane. I cant believe I actually have to write this.”

The National Hurricane Center says Hurricane Florence's track has shifted south, making it more likely for a South Carolina landfall. Multiple models overnight Tuesday showed the storm hovering near N.C., then going along the coast to southern S.C.

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Police actually had to issue a similar warning when Hurricane Irma was approaching Florida last year.

“The response is a complete and total surprise to me,” he told BBC. “I never envisioned this event becoming some kind of crazy idea larger than myself. It has become something a little out of my control.”